Читать книгу The Lancashire Cycleway. The tour and 17 day rides онлайн

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Cycling is also immensely satisfying. To get somewhere by your own effort is rewarding in itself. And when you get to the top of a long hill, you’ll appreciate the view all the more. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that it’s all about suffering – it isn’t. Cycling, above all, is fun. If you’re sensibly prepared, if your bike is set up correctly for you (see ‘Correct riding position’ under ‘Bike choice and setup’ below), and if you don’t try to go too far too soon, then cycling is one of the most physically pleasurable things you can legally do in public.

There are, then, plenty of good reasons to go cycling. But why cycling in Lancashire? This is easy to answer – Lancashire is beautiful. This may surprise a few people, but it’s true. A few southerners may still cherish the ‘grim up north’ image, but dark satanic mills, flat caps and whippets are generally thin on the ground. The plain fact is that most of Lancashire – especially as seen from the Cycleway – is rural. Indeed, it includes a lot of countryside that looks quintessentially English: rolling hills clad in a patchwork of fields, woods and hedges. But no such generalisation will do justice to the diversity of Lancashire.